How to Potty Train your Puppy

If you’re a dog owner, you know how difficult it may be to train
your puppy at the beginning. They might not listen and they might not learn,
which means that when they’re older there’s a big decrease in the chance of
them actually learning anything new.

So the question is, what’s a good way to actually potty train
your puppy? It can be difficult teaching potty training, but it’ll be made easy
with a few simple tricks that I’m going to tell you today. Grab a few packs of
treats and a crate and you’ll be ready to teach your pup.

As an owner of two dogs myself, I know how difficult it is potty
training. They each have their own little personality, one more stubborn than
the others, one not learning as quickly than the other two. It took a bit of
time potty training each of them, but if you use this one routine then your
puppy will no doubt learn with ease.

The basics of potty training consist of a crate, treats, and a
strong will power to not give in to your pup’s cute face. The routine is
simple. If your pup is making noise and causing a ruckus, place them into the
crate until they become quiet. This teaches them that they can’t just be
barking and whining without consequence.

The only exception is if you think they’re giving a potty cry. In
this case, let them out so that they can go potty. If your pup is fooling you
though, they have to go back into the crate or they’ll never learn. They’ll
think that crying will get them out of the cage rather than silence or the need
to go potty.

This is the part where the treats come in. Your pup needs to
learn the act of going to the potty, so you need to marry the act of potty with
treats. They’ll be able to understand over a course of time during their most
susceptible period of learning. Soon enough, you’ll be able to potty train them
to go potty at certain times too. This can be especially helpful if your puppy
needs to be left alone during the day while you’re at work.

An important thing to remember is to never give too much freedom
to your pup as it’s literally a toddler with four legs and teeth! Though dogs,
especially puppies, are incredibly cute, you have to teach them the proper ways
around your home and how they should be acting. If you want to potty train
them, you have to be dedicated to making sure they learn from you.

Always keep in mind that trust is earned through reliability and
time. You can’t expect your puppy to learn how to go potty after just a couple
times of training, you have to be repetitive to ensure that they learn over
time. It’s important to also know that once they’re able to go potty on their
own or by asking you, they’ve become reliable enough and you can trust that
they’ve learned.

Another great thing to teach with a crate and treats is how your
puppy can deal with separation anxiety. Having two dogs means a whole lot of
separation anxiety; crying at the door when I leave, and greeting me excitedly
as if I was gone for a week when it was only ten minutes. While I love them
deeply, I know they’re overreacting and suffer from extreme separation anxiety.

You can teach your pup to deal with this by placing them in their
crate if they cry and show signs like this. Once they’re older, it’s basically
impossible to treat their separation anxiety, so make sure you aren’t doing
things that can possibly enable this behavior.

Remember to teach your puppy when they’re a puppy! As said
before, chances of them learning once they’re older are slim. They can retain
more information when they’re young, so be sure that you’re constantly
dedicated to teaching them what you want them to know, like potty training.

Development periods are broken down into certain sections, and there
are critical periods where your puppy is more susceptible to learning. This is
why it’s so crucial to ensure that you teach your puppy during the proper time
period. As an owner of two dogs, trust me, it’s best to teach them when they’re
young.

The first opportunity you have to teach your puppy is the human
socialization period. This begins at the seven week mark, and ends at the
twelve. While just over a month may seem like not enough time, this is when
they develop the brain wave of an adult dog. They can learn respect and
behavioral responses. This is the time when the bonding with their owner
begins, and they can accept a small amount of discipline.

Be cautious with your disciplining though, as the fear impact
period is from eight to eleven weeks old. You don’t want to frighten your pup
and possibly scare them away from learning how to go potty. Potty training is
so crucial in your puppy’s development stages, so be gentle with your
discipline so they don’t get frightened.

As a pet owner myself who didn’t do much training in general with
my pups, let me tell you that it’s crucial to teach them when they’re young. My
dogs are potty trained, but it took a lot more effort to teach them because I
wasn’t aware that teaching them when they’re young is important. Today, they
tend to cry a lot due to separation anxiety even if I’m sitting right beside
them. They need constant love and attention, and can’t stand to be away from me
for a moment.

Remember, if you want well behaved pups that are potty trained
and don’t have separation anxiety, train them when they’re young! Use the crate
and treats method to teach them the basics and they’ll learn quickly and
smoothly.